Warning: SPOILERS for Captain America and the Winter Soldier Special #1Marvel Comics reveals that everything that the Outer Circle, Marvel's new version of the Illuminati, which can decide the fate of government and nations. This means that Doom's conquest of Latveria was also engineered, or simply allowed to happen, by Wulf Fortunov, and Victor's worst enemies have actually been pulling his strings.
Victor Von Doom was born as the humble son of a Romani couple, Werner and Cynthia, in the Zefiro clan, which inhabited the lands of Latveria. Both Doom's parents died as a result of King Vladimir Fortunov's persecution. Victor survived, went to America to study, and, after becoming an expert scientist and practitioner of magi, he returned to Latveria as Dr. Doom. He rallied the oppressed people of the country, staged a coup, and killed Vladimir, becoming the new ruler of Latveria. Over the years, some of the Fortunov family re-emerged, but they never posed a real threat to Doom's rule and authority.
However, things are much different from what they seemed. In Captain America and the Winter Soldier Special #1, by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Kev Walker, and KJ Dìaz, the origins of the Outer Circle are finally revealed. This group of powerful villains has manipulated both Captain America and the Winter Soldier's lives for a very long time, but their origins actually go further back. The group was founded in 1922 by Prince Wulf Fortunov of Latveria. Shocked by the amount of destruction brought forward by the First World War, Fortunov decided that real powerful people had to take the reins of the world to steer it in a direction that furthered their interests. Thus, the Outer Circle was created, and Fortunov took the seat of the Power, still surviving today thanks to advanced technology.
Dr. Doom Is Just A Pawn In Someone Else's Game
It's not clear who this Wulf Fortunov actually is, as the character never appeared before. He could be the father of King Vladimir, the man that Doom ousted and killed, but the Fortunov family tree is not very detailed. Regardless, Wulf was the Prince of Latveria in 1922, and after creating the Outer Circle he became one of the most powerful people in the world, who has been quietly steering world events for an entire century. It's absolutely impossible that Wulf would have let a young Doom take the throne of his country if that did not suit his own interests too. This means that Doom's revenge against the person responsible for his parents' death and his conquest of Latveria are lies, and he was just a pawn in someone else's game.
It's quite shocking to think that the proud and Machiavellian Victor Von Doom could be just a puppet. Doom's revenge against the Fortunovs is an integral part of the history of his character, so it will be very interesting to see how far Marvel will go with this Outer Circle storyline, and if the current ruler of Latveria will also have a part to play in it.
Captain America and the Winter Soldier Special #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
